Parachute drying apparatus



March 19, 1957 E. KIEFER 2,785,479

PARACHUTE DRYING APPARATUS Filed June 19, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 n n nmvarme; ERICH KIEFER March 19, 1957 E. KlEFER PARACHUTE DRYING APPARATUS3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 19, 1953 IN VEIITOR ER/cH If: EFER 6 Y.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 E. KIEFER PARACHUTE DRYING APPARATUS March 19, 1957Filed June 19, 1953 IN VIYTURI ERICH ITIEFER \LPAAR g M w A u i T A T.4. -m y mn H V. N Q l/ A h T 4: irtl I. W// E $2 a E E 9 wd Eli StatesThe present invention relates to a method of drying parachutes by meansof a current of hot air, and to an apparatus for carrying out suchmethod.

t is the primary object of the invention to devise a method of dryingparachutes more quickly and economically than by the known methods, andto carry out such method within a relatively small space.

it is another object of the invention to devise a method of dryingparachutes by directing a hot air current in such a manner that thehardest drying parts of the parachute are subjected to a stronger dryingaction than the more easily drying parts.

A feature of the invention resides in directing a hot air current upon asuspended parachute in such a manner that both sides thereof are dried,thus reducing the time as well as the amount of heat required for dryingthe entire parachute.

Another feature of the invention resides in a method and an apparatusfor suspending a parachute by its upper end, securing the hardest dryingparts of the parachute at a point near such upper end, and passing a hotair current through the upper center hole of the parachute past suchhardest drying parts and then first along the inside and thereafteralong the outside of the parachute.

These objects, features and advantages of the present invention areobtained by connecting the parachute at its upper end to the air currentso that the hot dry air flows through the center hole of the parachuteto the inside and outside thereof. In order to dry the hardest dryingparts, i. c. the harness and suspension cords, more quickly andthoroughly, they are preferably placed near the entrance of the aircurrent where it is driest, that is, inside the parachute near thecenter hole thereof. Such heating and drying of the parachute from bothsides reduces the drying time considerably and requires less heat and,if an electric heating system is used, less electric current.

Such fast but safe drying is preferably carried out by directing the dryair current through the upper center hole of the suspended parachutepast the harness, suspension cords, etc., and down along the inside ofthe parachute until it reaches its lower end, and by then reversing.

the direction of the current so that it will flow upwardly along theouter surface of the parachute to one or more openings, the size ofwhich determines the velocity of the air current in the drying chamber.

For drying a larger series of parachutes in a continuous operation, theinvention provides suspension devices secured on carriages so as to rollalong a track or rails through a drying channel and separated withinindividual chambers which are suspended from the carriages so as to movetherewith. The carriages, chambers, and parachutes therein are thenmoved in a series of steps from one air current connection to anotherand in a general direction opposite to that of the current, so as toprovide successive drying stages in the drying channel.

In order to carry out such object, as many air current connections arepreferably provided one behind the other in each of a series of adjacentdrying channels as there V are parachutes moving in intermittent motionthrough the channels. The individual moving chambers within which theparachutes are suspended are preferably formed simply by providing asingle vertical wall on each suspension device, thus sealing oif oneparachute from the other. After passing the last drying stage andreaching the end or the respective drying channel, the completely dryparachutes are removed from the suspension devices and carriages whichthen automatically return to the starting or loading position eitherthrough an adjacent channel or a common channel provided in the middlebetween several drying channels.

An apparatus for carrying out the above mentioned method preferablyconsists of several, for example, four, drying chambers within eachchannel for simultaneously drying four parachutes in each chamber. Eachdrying chamber may be connected to a separate fan which sucks the aireither from the outside or from the: adjacent chambet and distributes itevenly to the parachutes in that chamber.

Further objects, features, and advantages will appear from the followingdescription and the: accompanying drawings of one embodiment of theinvention in which the direction of movement of the hot air current andof the respective parts of the apparatus is indicated by arrows, and inwhich Fig. 1 shows a partial side view of a drying channel according tothe invention with the forward side wall broken away to show the insideof the channel as well as the loading position;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section through one completechannel to show the passage of hot air in a direction generally oppositeto the movement of the parachutes;

Fig. 3 shows a drying stage or chamber of one channel in a side viewsimilar to that shown in Fig. 1;

Fi 4 is a horizontal section through the drying stage or chamber takenalong line lV-lV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the drying apparatus according tothe invention in connection with a washing apparatus.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, numeral 1 indicates a parachute holding andsuspension device in which a parachute 2 is suspended and secured bymeans of a ring 3 slid from below into the parachute, a grippingmechanism 4, and a motor-driven pulley 5. The suspension device 1carries at its left side a transverse vertical wall 6 which extendsalmost to the ground and may consist of sheet metal or other suitablematerial. The suspension device 1 is supported on a carriage 7 whichruns on rails 8. Fig. 1 shows two such suspension devices l, the left ofwhich is being loaded outside of the drying channel 9, while the rightsuspension device, which has already been provided with'a parachute, hasalready passed into the first drying stage of channel 9 where it isconnected to a hot air conduit 10.

The suspended parachute 2 on the right side of Fig. 1 shows the hardestdrying parts thereof, i. e. the harness and suspension cords ll, drawnup to a point immediately below the entrance of the hot air into theparachute. Fig. 1 also shows at the front of channel 9 and above left,so as to emerge from stage 16 in a completely dry Patented Mar. 19,1957,

assume condition; The hot air current, on the other hand, flows in ageneral direction from the right to the left, that is,countercurrentwise to the direction of movement of the parachutes, asindicated by arrows 17. The air current may either by provided for aseries of stages 13, 14, 15, 16, as shown in Fig. 2, or each stage mayhave its own fan, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

In Fig. 2, the air current is sucked up either from the previous stageor from, the. outside, and blown through conduits (not shown) into theupper central hole of the individual parachutes in chamber 16, thendownwardly along the inner surfaces of the parachutes, and then upwardlyalong their outer surfaces. The air current then flows through theaperture to the next stage 15, again through the center hole of theparachutes first to the inside and then the outside thereof, and then tothe exit openingof that stage. It thus proceeds through the remainingstages until it emerges through the final exit 18 to the outeratmosphere. Before being blown into the individual stages, the air mayfirst be passed through a suitable filter 19 and, if necessary, acondenser 20, the fan 21, and a suitable heater 22.

The preferred manner of conducting the air current within one dryingstage is shown more in. detail in Figs. 3 and 4. The hot air enteringthe drying stage 14 from the previous stage 15 through an aperture 23 isfirst sucked up by the fan 21, which is separately provided in eachstage, and is then blown thereby through conduits 24, 25, and 26 intothe four suspension devices 1 which are then located in such dryingstage. From each suspension device 1 the air current then flows fromabove into the upper center hole of the parachute 2 and then downwardlyalong the inside thereof until at the bottom itsdirection is reversed sothat it flows upwardly along the outer surface of the parachute, thenthrough the perforations of a sieve 27 towardthe next drying stage 13.The emerging air current is prevented from mixing with thehot airpreviously admitted into the same stage by a separating wall 28, alongthe lower surface of which it flows into the adjacent drying stage 13through an aperture 23'. While the hot air current thus flows from theright'toward the left through the individual drying stages, theparachutes on the suspension devices 1 pass at the same time in anintermittent movement in the direction of arrows 29 from the left towardthe right through the same respective drying stages, and, while stoppingtemporarily in each stage, each suspension device 1 is connected to therespective conduit 26. As previously indicated, the fan 21 in each stagemay be provided with a filter, a condenser, and a suitable heater, orany of these means.

Fig. 5 shows diagrammatically the entire arrangement of a parachutedrying and washing system accordingto the invention. It comprises twogroups of four adjacent drying channels 9 and a central channel 30separatiug the two groups. In front of. each drying channel is awashingapparatus which may, for example, consist offour washing machines 31 andfour spin driers 32 for pro-drying the parachutes after they have beenlaundered. The thickly drawn arrows 33 indicate the direction ofmovementof the parachutes within the entire system, while the thinnerarrows 34 indicate the direction of movement of the suspension deviceswithin the drying apparatus. The drawing also shows that the suspensiondevices, after passing through the respective channels 9 and after thedried parachutes have been removed therefrom, are returned through onecentral channel 30 to the loading position 35 where a new series of wetor spin-dried parachutes may be suspended in the suspension devices 1.

A great advantage of the new drying method and apparatus resides in thefact that it does not require any additional handlingor movement of theparachutes, .and that it therefore requires only a very few operatorsvto' service the entire apparatus. Also,- since each individual own hotair plant which may be run independent of those" of the other channels,one or several chambers may be taken out of operation, depending uponthe number of parachutes to be dried.

The present invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shownin the drawings. For example, the manner of conducting the air currentas shown in Figs. 3 and 4 may be of different design, and the inventionas a whole includes all drying methods and drying apparatus in which aparachute is connected at its upper end to a hot air current so that itflows through the center hole of the parachute along the inside andoutside thereof, or vice versa, while the hardest drying parts of theparachute, including the harness, are preferable placed at a point wherethe drying action of the air current is the strongest.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An apparatus for drying parachutes comprising a drying chamber, meansfor suspending a parachute in said chamber and for securing it about itscenter hole, means for passing an air current through the center holedownwardly along the inner surface, and guide means for directing theair upwardly along the outer surface of the parachute.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further com prising means forsecuring the harness and suspension cords of the parachute near thecenter hole thereof.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising meansforwithdrawing the air current from said chamber and for controlling itsvelocity in said chamber.

4. In an apparatus for drying a parachute having a center hole, incombination, suspension means for grasping the parachute about itscenter hole and suspending the parachute in such a manner that itassumes a tubular configuration; blower means including a nozzle memberin alignment with the center hole of the suspended parachute for passinga drying medium through the center hole downwardly along the innersurface of the suspended parachute; and flow guide means arrangedexteriorly of the suspended parachute for reversing the direction offlow of the drying medium after the same leaves the bottom of thesuspended parachute so as to cause the drying medium to flow upwardlyalong the outer surface of the parachute.

5. In an apparatus for drying a parachute having a center hole, incombination, means forming a drying chamber having a floor and verticalside wall means extending substantially to said floor; suspension meansfor grasping the parachute about its center hole and sus pending theparachute within said drying chamber in such a manner that the centerhole is at the top of said drying chamber, that the parachute assumes atubular configuration with the parachute being spaced from said sidewall means, and that the bottom of the parachute is spaced from saidfloor; and blower means including a nozzle member in alignment with thecenter hole of the suspended parachute for passing a drying mediumthrough the center hole downwardly along the inner surface of theparachute, whereby the drying medium, after issuing through the bottomof the suspended parachute, will be deflected by said floor of saiddrying chamber and be constrained to flow upwardly between the suspendedparachute and said side wall means, thereby flowing along the outersurface of the suspended parachute.

6. An apparatus for drying parachutes each of which has a center hole,comprising,.in combination, a drying channel; means forming togetherwith said drying channel a series of adjacent drying chambers each ofwhich is movable in the direction of said drying channel, said means andsaid drying channel being so constructed and arranged as to have a floorand vertical side wall means extending substantially to said floor;suspension means associated with each of saiddrying chambers for grasping a parachute about its center hole and suspendingthe' avsawo 5parachute in each respective drying chamber in such a manner that thecenter hole is at the top of the drying chamber, that the parachuteassume a tubular configuration with the parachute being spaced from saidside wall means, and that the bottom of the parachute is spaced fromsaid floor; blower means including a nozzle member arranged along saiddrying channel and communicating with the center hole of a suspendedparachute while the respective drying chamber is in alignment with saidnozzle member for passing a drying medium through the center holedownwardly along the inner surface of the parachute, whereby the dryingmedium, after issuing through the bottom of the suspended parachute,will be deflected by said floor of said 15 thereby flowing along theouter surface of the suspended parachute, and moving means for movingsaid drying chambers, together with the parachutes suspended therein,along said drying channel past said nozzle member in a step-wise manner,whereby said drying chambers may be successively aligned with saidnozzle member so that the latter may, for predetermined periods, beplaced in communication with successive parachutes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,653,761 Dewhurst Dec. 27, 1927 2,000,507 Bromfield May 7, 19352,532,494 Hensler Dec. 5, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 358,263 Great BritainApr. 22, 1931

